Volleyball Headline

The Florida volleyball team, coming off a 27-6 record and an
NCAA regional final appearance in 2011, has earned a No.18 ranking in the 2012 American Volleyball Coaches Association
Division I Preseason Coaches’ Top-25 Poll, the AVCA office in Lexington, Ky.,
announced Monday.

The Gators are one of three Southeastern Conference teams
ranked in the top-25 poll to begin the 2012 campaign. Eastern Division foe
Kentucky is ranked 13th and 2011 SEC Champion Tennessee is ranked 15th. There
are also three SEC opponents receiving votes, with LSU (24 votes), Texas
A&M (15 votes) and Missouri (9 votes) being recognized.

The Gators will face eight teams this season ranked in the
AVCA preseason top-25 or receiving votes. Florida will square off with two of
the top 10 teams in the AVCA preseason poll this season at the Nike Big Four
Classic, which pits No. 2 Texas and No. 6 Stanford against the No. 18 Gators at
Rec Hall on the campus of No. 3 Penn State.

Florida’s ranking marks the 21st consecutive year that Mary
Wise’s squad has been regarded as one of the nation’s top-20 teams headed
into the season.

Florida begins the 2012 campaign Aug. 24-25, when they host
the Campus USA Credit Union Invitational, featuring a Sunshine State lineup of
the Gators, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida A&M and Florida International. The
Gators were picked to finish third in the Southeastern Conference this season. Season tickets are on sale now for the
2012 Florida volleyball season and fans have multiple options to enjoy the
Gators in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

If Gator fans would like to catch a glimpse of the Orange
and Blue before August 24th, Verizon Fan Day will take place on Saturday,
August 18 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Admission
is free and gates will open at 2:30 p.m.